CHENNAI: All 12,525 gram panchayats in Tamil Nadu will soon get access to high-speed internet through Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) as a Master Service Agreement (MSA) has been signed for the pending package B of BharatNet to cover 3,001 panchayats in Villupuram, Erode, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Kallakurichi, Salem, and The Nilgiris districts.

On Friday, FibreNet Corporation Limited signed the MSA with Pace Digitek Infra Private Limited for the package in the presence of IT Minister T Mano Thangaraj. The BharatNet project is aimed at offering digital services such as e-education, telemedicine, triple play services (Telephone, Television and Internet Connection) to people at affordable cost. It will also allow government offices, public institutions, schools, colleges and industries to use high-speed internet to deliver citizen-centric services in villages. The project will improve the State’s socio-economic standards.

The project, approved by the Centre at an estimated cost of `1,815 crore, is divided into four packages. Each package will have one system integrator and a third-party agency. Package A will cover Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Krishnagiri, Ranipettai, Tirupati and Chennai districts. Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai, Namakkal, Karur, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Tiruchirapalli, Mayiladuthurai will come under package C. Kanyakumari, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Theni, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Tenkasi, Dindigul, and Sivagangai districts will be covered under package D.

IT secretary Neeraj Mittal, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation Limited A K Kamal Kishore, Chief General Manager of Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) G Kalaivani, and principal GM of BBNL Chandrasekar were present.

Source: New Indian Express